


Diarama

by IndigoJuly



Category: Persona 3
Genre: Gen, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-12
Updated: 2019-12-12
Packaged: 2021-02-18 03:14:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,459
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21770848
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndigoJuly/pseuds/IndigoJuly
Summary: “Ah, I, well yes.” He focused on the steam still rising from the tea. How should he put this? “I would like to ask for a… favor.” He glanced up to meet her eyes, silently encouraging. “It’s for, uh.” He probably couldn’t get away with being vague. “It’s for surgery… For me.”Where Minato asks Mitsuru to fund his top surgery. You would too, if you had to run around fighting Shadows with a binder on.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 39





	Diarama

**Author's Note:**

> Double binding (using multiple binders at once) is mentioned in this fic. I do not recommend this. It can be unsafe and can lead to injury.
> 
> Also- (mild spoilers for my own fic?)- Minato's idea for getting surgery is kind of dumb. Seek out board-certified, credible surgeons! Minato will be ok because of magic healing hand-wavy things that don't exist, and because I'm saying his surgeon didn't fuck up. Don't try to do this in real life.

He couldn’t breathe and they were going to _die_ because of him, because they were trapped at a dead end facing off against The Reaper of all enemies. What a perfect time to his ribs and lungs to protest just a bit too much against his binder.

“No, you can’t defeat it! RUN!” Fuuka’s voice rang out, high and desperate.

“No shit, come on guys!” Akihiko yelled, darting to the side to avoid the arrows suddenly raining down.

Yukari sidestepped an arrow aimed for his head and sprinted for the exit. An arrow glanced off Mitsuru’s armor as she looked back to where Minato was.

“Look out!” Someone yells (Mitsuru?) but he can’t quite hear over the ringing in his ears. Minato tried to evade, but he wasn’t _fast_ enough and suddenly his binder isn’t the only thing causing him pain.

“Come on! Stand up!” Arms are wrapping around him, careful but urgent, pulling him forward and he cries out as the arrow embedded in his torso shift. “We have to go, now! Hand in there!” Somehow, he finds his legs moving, one in front of the other faster than he thought possible, slipping past the distracted Reaper that Yukari is firing at.

 _The stairs_ ! Minato sees them and he thinks _I can’t make it up them_ but Akihiko is on the other side of him, and he’s practically carried up the stairs by Mitsuru and Akihiko while Yukari’s shouts make his ears ring even more.

They stumble forward at the top of the stairs and he just sags onto the floor, Mitsuru and Akihiko trying to gently set him down.

“Arisato-kun! Yukari’s eyes are filled with concern as she kneels next to him. She helps him onto his back and wow his adrenaline is not doing enough to numb the pain from those arrows. “Mitsuru-senpai, can you get this one? Arisato-kun, I’m sorry-” Her fingers wrap around the arrow below his ribcage and Mitsuru has the one in his stomach and they _pull-_

He might have briefly blacked out, he’s not sure, but the next thing he feels is the warm comfort of Yukari’s Diarama stitching him back together. “Oh god. You scared me there,” she pants, voice breathy from panic turned into relief. “How are you feeling?”

How _was_ he feeling? He could be better- even if he wasn’t in pain from the arrows, the fear of it was still there. And, oh- that’s right, he got into his mess in the first place because he can’t get a full breath in. “I- thank you, all of you. I’m ok. Just, just need a minute.” If anyone notices how his voice is more strained than usual, he hopes they’ll chalk it up to the whole nearly dying thing.

“You sure? You didn’t look too great before The Reaper showed up, even,” Akihiko says, brow furrowed. Maybe he was more perceptive than Minato gave him credit for.

“Let’s rest for the night,” Mitsuru decides, using the voice that leaves no room for questions. 

So they head back to the dorm, ready to finally sleep. Once Minato settles back into his room, he pulls his shirt off, ready to inspect the damage. His shirt was ripped (maybe he should invest in better armor too) but more importantly, his binder is torn as well. He wrestles it over his head, trying not to tear it even more. Well, it wasn’t as bad as it could be. A couple patches and it would probably hold up. 

And yet, it kept happening. Not the cornered-by-The-Reaper-and-nearly-dying, thankfully, no just the I-can’t-quite-breathe-enough-for-this-physical-activity part of it. So Minato did some research and sought out who he knew could help.

\--------

Knocking on Mitsuru’s door shouldn’t have felt scary. It looked the same as all the other doors, after all. And yet, somehow it emanated a presence that could only be Mitsuru.

“Come in,” her voice drifted through the door, breaking him out of his thoughts. Opening the door, he was greeted to red and gold. “Arisato, it’s good to see you.” She smiled from the couch she was lounging in. He stole a glance around. This was certainly the fanciest room in the dorm- a large TV, several expensive-looking pieces of furniture, a display of delicate dishes… “How are you? Here, sit down. I have tea.”

He walked to the couch across from Mitsuru as she poured him tea, into a teacup on a saucer, no less. He hummed as he accepted it and sat down. It’s warmth was comforting, even if he couldn’t identify the type. It was probably something fancy as well. “Mm, thank you, Mitsuru-san. This great, and your couch is so comfortable I’m not sure I could get up if I tried.”

Her laugh was genuine, eyes falling shut and lip curling gently upward. “I’m glad. A couch should be just as comfortable as it is beautiful. Anyway, did you need something?”

“Ah, I, well yes.” He focused on the steam still rising from the tea. How should he put this? “I would like to ask for a… favor.” He glanced up to meet her eyes, silently encouraging. “It’s for, uh.” He probably couldn’t get away with being vague. “It’s for surgery… For me.” 

Mitsuru’s head tilted to the side slightly. “Are you well? Or is this-”

“I’m fine!” he quickly clarified. Well, that was mostly true. “I’ve been, mm, having some trouble in Tarturus lately? I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

She nodded. “Yes, I… noticed that you’ve been getting tired faster. Is surgery supposed to help? We can spend less time climbing floors and more time training- our pace _has_ gotten fast.” 

“No, it’s not that. It’s, it’s my binder.” His voice dropped. 

“Do you require a new one? It’s no problem, I’m sure they wear out faster given our activities in Tartarus.” 

He couldn’t meet her eyes, but he could hear the concern in her voice. “No, they just… don’t do enough anymore. Even the new ones. I tried to layer them, but then I also can’t breathe.” His shoulders hunched unconsciously, drawing into himself. “If I could get surgery… then I wouldn’t have to worry about it.”

“Ah.” Well, she didn’t sound mad. In fact, she seemed understanding. “Money is no issue, of course. I’m here to support you in any way I can. Even if it means taking over leadership in Tartarus if you need to recover.”

“Thank you. Hearing your support means a lot.” He let out the breath he had been holding. 

“But how do you even plan to get surgery in the first place? I can’t say I’m particularly educated about the intricacies, but I was under the impression that the process was quite complex.”

“Yes, it’s difficult. I don’t think I would be able to under normal circumstances. But… there’s a doctor. He’ll do it for people in circumstances like this.” 

Mitsuru’s concern returned. “I trust you, Arisato, but are you sure? This seems like it could be unsafe.”

He nodded firmly. “I know. But I can’t fight in Tartarus well enough, given the situation now. We can’t risk another encounter like last time, and the floor bosses are only getting harder. And I can’t…” He had to glance away. “I can’t go without it. I know it’s a liability to the team… but I, I,” he stumbled over his words and bit his lip, feeling all too vulnerable, suddenly conscious of the way his heart beat in his chest and the tightness in his shoulder and-

“It’s _ok_ , Arisato. You aren’t a burden. I see you’ve thought about this, and I understand. I wouldn’t be able to stop you anyway,” she smiled. “Is there… anything else I can do? Not just as a leader, but as a friend.”

“Would you, maybe, if you found the time, be able to… go with?” He hated the way his voice rose at the end, uncertain and nervous.

“Yes, of course. In fact, it would make me feel better to know that you weren’t alone. I’m glad you asked.”

He sagged into the couch, taking a sip of the tea that had thankfully occupied his hands. He couldn’t ask for a better friend. 

\--------

“Hey, did you get taller or something?” Junpei squinted. Minato definitely hadn’t been that tall last time he checked. 

“Mm, I think he’s just standing up straight, Iori,” Mitsuru laughed. 

“Yeah, come on Junpei, do you think he just grew taller overnight?” said Yukari.

“Hey, don’t look at me like that! You never know what can happen around here anymore!” Junpei protested.

“It would be highly unlikely for someone even as special as him to grow that much so suddenly,” Aigis countered.

“Come on guys, why do you gotta gang up on me like that…”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this instead of doing the work I need to be doing. But my creativity and motivation to write is fleeting, so I figured I'd write before it faded. So here I go again, spewing words I wrote at like 2am on a whim so there could be more trans content. It's not as put-together as I'd like, but I suppose that just happens when I have an idea, realize that it doesn't quite work, but write it anyway. In case you're wondering about the specifics, Mitsuru would have been there in case something went really wrong for the surgery. And I assume that healing items or skills sped up the healing process, so no, Minato isn't running around fucking up his incisions mere days after surgery. And hunched over trans!Minato is my favorite.


End file.
